1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exploring the configuration and functionality of application resources.
2. Background Art
Various styles of software architecture may be used in distributed hypermedia systems such as, for example, the World Wide Web. One such architectural style is Representational State Transfer (REST), which focuses on how components are used, including interaction constraints, data element interpretation, and the like. Typically, applications conforming to REST (or RESTful applications) are implemented as resources. Resources may define other resources and may support one or more methods. Each resource has an address such as a uniform resource identifier (URI). Clients and servers exchange representations of these resources using a standard interface such as, for example, HTTP.
A RESTful application may be described using the Web Application Description Language (WADL). A WADL description may include one or more of a set of resources, relationships between resources, methods that can be applied to each resource, resource representation formats, and the like. The set of resources typically includes one or more top-level resources. Each top-level resource may also have one or more sub-resources. Resource relationships may include both referential and causal links. Methods typically include expected inputs and outputs and their supported formats. Methods may include functionality such as post, get, put, delete, and the like. WADL may be described using the eXtended Markup Language (XML).
REST applications typically reside on servers and may be accessed by one or more remote clients. A difficulty with using REST applications arises from a lack of knowledge concerning the resources and methods supported by the RESTful application. What is needed is support for exploring REST applications.